Dr Liau graduated from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore in 1994 and obtained his postgraduate surgical degree in 1998. The same year, he was admitted to the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, UK. Dr Liau then continued his further training in cancer management at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, USA from 2002 to 2003. When he returned to Singapore in 2003, he was conferred Fellowships by the Academy of Medicine, the College of Surgeons Singapore and the International College of Surgeons.

Prior to establishing his private practice, Dr Liau was the senior consultant surgeon in the Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital. During his tenure, he served as the Chief of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery Unit in the Department of General Surgery from 2004 to 2010. He was also the Deputy Head of the Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital from 2008 to 2010.

Dr Liau was the founder of Asian-Pacific Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (APHPBA), and a council member in the association from 2005 - 2011. Dr Liau was also the Vice President of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (Singapore) from 2013-2014 and the council member of the College of Surgeons, Singapore from 2010-2014.

Dr Liau is a member of the Society for Surgery of Alimentary Tract (SSAT), Endoscopic & Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA) and International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA). Having a keen interest in the care of patients with neuroendocrine tumours (carcinoids), he serves on the executive committee of the Carcinoid & Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (CNETs) and is also a member of the European Neuroendocrine Society. Dr Liau belongs to an International Surgical Infections Studies Group which reviews the practice guidelines for the management of surgical infections.